EV TING'S TAKING ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS ONE CHAMPIONSHIP LIGHTWEIGHT BELT

Oct 6 is a huge date for MMA. UFC 229 will go down in Las Vegas, in possibly the biggest MMA fight in this era...Khabib 'The Eagle' Nurmagomedov will defend his Lightweight belt against MMA global star & former champion Conor 'The Notorious' McGregor.

This is a classic match of a striker (Conor) vs grappler (Khabib). Many discussion and analysis has been going on about each of their strengths & weaknesses and who will prevail.

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Over here in Asia, the Lightweight division of ONE Championship is also making headlines. Going into Oct 6 , ONE has planned for Kingdom of Heroes. In which two title fight; WBC Super Flyweight title bout is the main event and Female Kickboxing Atomweight title the co main event.
But the attention will also be on Lightweight bout of Malaysian-Kiwi Ev Ting vs Japanese Shinya Aoki.

This bout is significant as it was supposed to be a Lightweight elimination bout to determine who will challenge Martin Nguyen for the title. But on 28 Sept, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong drop the bombshell that Martin has relinquish the Lightweight title due to injuries to his knee ligaments. Martin has also release a statement confirming the decision to vacate the title as an honourable thing to do so that he won't hold up the stacked division. ( read the story here )

With that piece of surprise announced so closed to Kingdom of Heroes, many in Ev's and Shinya's camp was hoping their fight will be push up to be a title bout as both these two are perfectly deserving fighter to be given that.

Prior to losing his title challenge to Eduard Folayang in April last year, Ev was on a four fight win streak. After that lost, he rebound by collecting another three hard fought victory against 3 veteran fighter. Many questions his stopping power as his pass three victory was all by decision, but go watch those fights and you will see the relentless work rate of  Ev and the last 3 opponents he faced are accomplished fighters.

Ev Ting's Tapology fight record

Shinya is a legend in this sports. Holding an impressive 41-8-0. His grappling skills is legendary. Digest this...he has a first round win over MMA icon Kazushi Sakubara in 2015 RIZIN 1.

Shinya won more than 30 of his fights via submission. Himself a former ONE Lightweight champion way back in 2013. Shinya loss his belt to Eduard Folayang in Nov 2016. He came back to fight in ONE in a grappling match vs Gary Tonon, then moved up to challenge Ben Askren for the Welterweight strap. He lost both fight.

He was back on track this year imposing his superior grappling to win twice in May & July both by submission in the first round.

Shinya Aoki's  Tapology fight record

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So both Shinya & Ev's credentials and achievements surely make a good case for a title fight, but as predicted ONE will not want to overload the Bangkok card. It's their Boxing title bout, so understandably they will put all effort to promote the main event.

Then came another surprise for the Lightweight division. On 1 Oct Chatri announced in his FB that for Nov 23 in Manila's event - Conquest for Champions, Eduard Folayang will fight Singaporean Amir Khan for the Lightweight title!

I must say I was rather surprise at this turn of events. For Eduard, it can be said to be justifiable as he is the former champion. He has since collected two more decision win after that lost to Martin.

As for Amir Khan, he is also on a two fight win streak, but he also has a blipped in his record with a lost to Timofey Nastyukhin in Feb this year. But no doubt the heavy handed Amir Khan is a serious contender in this division.

I would expect, with Martin vacating the title, Eduard vs Amir bout can be another Lightweight title eliminator and winner gets to slug it out with winner of Ev vs Shinya to determine the undisputed ONE Championship Lightweight Champion.

But looks like ONE need a big fight to headline in Manila, hence making the title bout, at same time rallying the huge fans of Folayang to support his journey back to reclaim the title.

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As for now, Ev will not want to be bother with the 'what ifs'. He wants to purely focus on the task at hand. Eliminating Shinya from the Lightweight contention. Ev is splitting his fight camp between his adopted land's Auckland MMA and his birthplace KL's Monarchy Gym.

Monarchy present a great place for his camp as they have top level wrestlers and grapplers to train & spar with in his preparation to face Shinya.

Ev knows that Shinya will go for his bread & butter and will try to close the distance with take downs and want bring the fight to the ground.

As he told Fight Game Asia,

“He’s got to get past my striking, hug me and take me down. Without a doubt, Aoki will try and take me down, but there’s a few things he must get past if he wants to bring me to the ground.

“He is coming fresh off two first round finishes and people are saying he’s getting old, but this guy is no joke, you cannot take him lightly and must train for the best version possible."

Get yourself tickets to ONE Championship -Kingdom of Heroes.

 

For those not in Bangkok you may have PPV to UFC 229, but for ONE Championship, you can watch all the bouts live FREE on ONE Super App, download it now.

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EV TING OUTWORK KOJI ANDO FOR HIS WIN TO CALL FOR A TITLE FIGHT NEXT

23 June 2018. One Championship concluded last night in Macau for ONE CHAMPIONSHIP : PINNACLE OF POWER. It's ONE's fourth event featuring the ONE Super Series (Kickboxing and Muaythai fight )

Two MMA title was on the line, the Flyweight title and the female Strawweight title. 

In the main event of the night, Filipino Geje Eustaquio managed to earn a split decision to unify the flyweight belt against long time champ Adriano Moraes.

In the co-main event, China's Xiong Jing Nan dominates Laura Balin to kept her belt via unanimous decision.

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In a lightweight fight, Malaysian-Kiwi spitfire Ev “E.T.” Ting defeated another notable name in the promotion’s stacked lightweight division, routing Koji “The Commander” Ando of Japan. It was a striking showcase from start to finish as both men delivered shattering blows, particularly Ev with powerful high round house that battered Ando.

Ando gallantly traded punches with Ting, but the latter connected on effective strikes through excellent counterpunching. Ting pulled away in the last round when he scored on a devastating high knee. With his gutsy performance against Ando, Ting was awarded a unanimous decision win.

It is worth noting that although Ando was on a 3 fight losing streak going into this fight, but he has never been finished and recorded a win over former UFC lightweight Roger Huerta. 'The Commmander' also went toe to toe with submission ace Shinya Aoki in a 5 round title fight in 2015.  

This is Ev's 3rd win after he lost the title fight challenging Eduard Folayang back in April last year. The lightweight belt has change owner since Nov 2017, when Martin 'The Situ-Asian Nguyen knocked out Eduard. A win by Ev over the experience Ando further pushes Ev called for a Lightweight title fight against Martin Nguyen

Click to watch the hi-lights of Ev vs Koji 

Warriors of Borneo talked to Ev after his victory last night.

WRB: How does it feels to be back fighting an MMA match in a ring? I believe the last time u did that was in your early MMA career right? Do you like fighting in a cage or ring?
ET: Cage feels like do or die and the ring feels more like a demonstration of skills and yes correct haven't competed in one for awhile but still often train in one. I enjoyed it and look forward to more ventures in there.


WRB: Going into the fight vs Koji, did you prepare with lots of wresting & take down defense?
ET: Yes, every camp I'm always improving on all aspects, but was certainly aware of his judo credentials and his submission finishes. So the game-plan was to keep my range to pick him apart.

WRB: Were you surprise that Koji prefered to stand and trade and hardly attempt any take down?
ET: Koji is one of the toughest competitors out there and has a mindset of a real samurai. 

I think the first round he was looking for take-downs until he realised it wasn't there due to my range and movement therefore he adjusted and came back slightly in the 2nd.

WRB: Take us through the fight? You pressured him by much of combos and high kicks in first two rounds, but Koji seems to have more output in the 3rd round. Tell us about that knee in the 3rd round.
ET: I took the lead in the striking in the first, Koji adjusted and started walking me down in the 2nd, took me awhile to adjust but once I did I was able to time some combos and also that knee where I missed the first couple times with the right, so switched it to the left and it connected. Much respect to such a tough opponent.

Ev Ting signature jumping knee connecting Ando in the 3rd round. Pic by YK TANG Photography

WRB: Of the 3 wins after you challenge Eduard, which win was the hardest and most satisfying? What's the thing that changes most since the loss to Eduard?
ET: Each win since my title shot is just another learning curve and what has changed most is my mindset, instead of trying to please everyone I just invested in myself and smart training. Smarter and harder now.

WRB: You clearly wants to challenge Martin for the lightweight title, do you think it should be your next fight?
Absolutely it should be the next fight, no other lightweight contender have taken out the contenders I've had.

Martin is not even a real lightweight so he has the choice to vacate or defend. If he truly believes he's the champ, then he would not hesitate to prove it.


WRB: When do you think you ready to fight? If ONE didn't give you that title fight, will you fight in KL card in July?
ET: Yes I've been campaigning for this but being 3 weeks out and he has another invented interim belt, it may be unlikely, but absolutely I will be ready. I'm not scared of any lightweight on his planet.

WRB: Tell us about your relationship with Martin? have you train with him before? What do you think of his recent win vs Christian Lee? How do you think your style vs Martin will play out in a title fight?
ET: We are both sponsored by the same gym Saigon Sports Club, while I spent over two years coaching there, he was getting all these awesome opportunities. Martin is the current champ for a reason. His timing and efficiency is on point but he has yet to be in deep waters.

ET vs 'The Situ-Asian' will sell out in Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand simply because people know it's going to be a real fight. Survival of the fittest type of fight.

WRB: What's that gold chain all about in Macau?
Bali MMA made it just for Xiong Jingnan the champ, Mario and myself so it would be rude not to wear it. Plus it looks pretty cool, but intrinsically it's more of a mindset for me.

WRB: Please give readers some tips of how you develop that power in your high kicks?
ET: The more times you do something the better you get, so it's simply repetitions. Having a good pad holding coach can help with the distancing and timing. Drills and skills pays the bills

WRB: Any leisure after win in Macau?
Asides from the overpriced food, we went to the after party at Pachao in Studio City, thanks ONE for hosting was a great night and everyone had a blast. #Whiskeysquad LOL

I want to thank ONE Championship for having me on the show, I look forward to represent and express my craft each time I step in the arena. Also all my partners who make it possible for me to fulfill my camps and lifestyle.

Onward and forward, I have got my eyes on the prize.

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ONE Championship: Pinnacle of Power @ Macau full results

ONE Flyweight World Championship bout: 

Geje Eustaquio defeats Adriano Moraes by Split Decision (SD) after 5 rounds

ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship bout: 

Xiong Jing Nan defeats Laura Balin by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 5 rounds

ONE Super Series Muay Thai catchweight bout (67.0kg): 

Petchmorrakot Wor. Sangprapai defeats Fabrice Fairtex Delannon by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 0:43 minutes of round 2

Lightweight bout: 

Ev Ting defeats Koji Ando by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

Featherweight bout: 

Narantungalag Jadambaa defeats Edward Kelly by TKO (Strikes) at 4:58 minutes of round 2

ONE Super Series Muay Thai flyweight bout: 

Lerdsila Phuket Top Team defeats Sok Thy by Split Decision (SD) after 3 rounds

ONE Super Series Kickboxing heavyweight bout: 

Tarik Khbabez defeats Alain Ngalani by Knockout (KO) at 1:49 minutes of round 3

ONE Super Series Muay Thai flyweight bout: 

Yukinori Ogasawara defeats Rui Botelho by Knockout (KO) at 2:54 minutes of round 2

Featherweight bout: 

Li Kai Wen defeats Rodian Menchavez by Knockout (KO) at 0:10 minutes of round 1

Flyweight bout: 

Danny Kingad defeats Ma Hao Bin by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

Bantamweight bout: 

Rin Saroth defeats Mario Satya Wirawan by TKO (Strikes) at 2:30 minutes of round 3

One Championship next event will be in Yangon on 29 June, ONE Championship: SPIRIT of WARRIOR with a Middleweight title fight between Myanmar's hero and champion Aung La N Sang vs Japanese challenger Ken Hasegawa. Watch the full event LIVE & FREE on the ONE Super App , download it now http://bit.ly/ONESuperApp

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ONE CHAMPIONSHIP : QUEST FOR GREATNESS - A NIGHT OF THRILLS, SPILLS AND DOMINATING WILL

KUALA LUMPUR 18 AUGUST 2017.
ONE CHAMPIONSHIP : QUEST FOR GREATNESS.

ONE returned to the city of Kuala Lumpur in the month of Malaysia's Merdeka month. Five Malaysian 'Tune Talk' Warriors enters the cage for their quest for greatness in which the night ended with mixed results.

ONE presents the fighters in the main cards in a show of glitzy videos and fireworks

In the main event of ONE: QUEST FOR GREATNESS, Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen of Australia completed his journey through ONE Championship’s featherweight ranks by upsetting previously-unbeaten Russian champion Marat “Cobra” Gafurov via knockout within two rounds to clinch the highly-coveted ONE Featherweight World Championship.

read my post on Martin's victory here

pix provided by ONE

In the co-main event of the evening, former world title challenger Ev “E.T.” Ting of Malaysia placed his name back in the winner’s column by overwhelming Japanese veteran and former ONE Welterweight World Champion Nobutatsu Suzuki to win by devastating technical knockout.

From the opening bell, Ting paced himself well, keeping Suzuki at range with his accurate striking before executing the end sequence. After staggering Suzuki with a combination counter, Ting lunged in with a jumping knee, backed Suzuki to the cage. He pressured him there and lifted Suzuki up in the air and slams him on the canvas. Suzuki tried to control Ev's head. Ev peppered him with short punches. Once his head got free, he postured up and rain rapid thunderous left & right which referee Olivier Coste have seen enough & stopped the fight.

watch the full fight here

Ev is hungry for a rematch with Eduard Folayang . In his victory speech, he call out again to Eduard, that he is ready anywhere, anytime.

Post fight interview, on when he wants the rematch, Ev said,
" I am ready to fight any month of the year. I am a fighter by nature and this is a luxury to fight in front of all of you. We are fighting everyday in the gym, this is just a glorified platform and we are very blessed to be here; Anytime, anytime ( for that rematch )

Ev dedicates this win to his grandmother in Sarawak. A lot of his family & relatives came to KL to support him for this fight and after this he will be visiting his grandma whom is not feeling well in Sarawak.

pix by YK TANG

pix by YK TANG

22-year-old Agilan “The Alligator” Thani, gave The "Shark" a good beating to give himself a good reeason to celebrate his birthday on 18 August 2017. His dominant performances placed himself back on the winning track with a unanimous decision victory over Sherif “The Shark” Mohamed of Egypt.

read about the pre fight story here

Showing off new skills and techniques that he learned from training with the world-famous Team Quest, Thani swamped Mohamed with his wrestling while stifling his opponent with submission attempts. The former world title challenger finished the three-round welterweight contest on a strong note, delivering crisp ground strikes to the delight of his roaring countrymen.

pix provide by ONE

Steve Dawson commented that facing Sherif whom used to fight as a heavyweight & light heavyweight presented a danger for Agilan; that his usual strength and power which he uses to great effect in his pass 6 wins will not be his strong point. But Agilan proofed him wrong when he easily lifted Sherif & slams in on the canvas a couple of times.

Even though it was a dominating performance but Agilan mentioned in post fight interview that he was not too happy as the plan was to win by a finish. His hydration was off the mark and he felt he could have done better. He will not be calling out anyone in particular for his next fight but will focus on sharpening his techniques to become a better fighter and leaving it to ONE's board to pick his opponent.

watch the hi-light

pix provided b y ONE

In a clash of high-caliber flyweights, Malaysia’s Gianni Subba captured a hard-earned victory in front of a jubilant hometown crowd by routing Japan’s Riku “The Outsider” Shibuya. Subba showcased his pinpoint accurate striking early on, peppering Shibuya with stinging right hands and spinning back-kicks in the first round.

Although Shibuya easily converted his take-down attempts in the succeeding rounds to avoid striking exchanges, Subba kept himself active on the canvas, fishing for submissions while landing the more telling blows. In the end, Subba’s efforts were rewarded with a unanimous decision.

pix provided by ONE

In post fight interview Gianni remark,
" This is my 3rd title contender fight. I just fought 3 guys who fought for the title, so I think I'm a step closer for the title. I really would like to go to Manila in November to get a victory. I'm hungry, I'm ready, I'm gonna go get it."

pix provided by ONE

“Mighty” May Ooi of Singapore disappointed the excited bunch of Malaysians supporters in Stadium Negara that night, as she scored a major victory in her ONE Championship debut by submitting Malaysian female martial arts superstar Ann “Athena” Osman in the first round.

In the early minutes, May survived a huge right hand from Osman and Ooi took matters to the canvas, where she maneuvered her cage counterpart with ease courtesy of her impeccable ground game. The 41-year-old Singaporean executed a flawless transition into a rear-naked choke that left Osman no choice but to tap out.

pix provided by ONE

Although sad that she didn't gave the fans a reason to cheer, Ann is taking the loss positively. It's a position she has been in before last year also in Stadium Negara, also losing by a rear naked choke. But Ann bounced back after that loss with a round 1 TKO victory in Feb this year. IT's a small bump in the road for her as she will be going back to the drawing board to correct her weakness and improve on her techniques & promise to be back stronger!

Christian “The Warrior” Lee of Singapore exhibited stellar form, proving himself a top featherweight contender in ONE Championship by scoring an impressive submission over Malaysia’s Keanu Subba. Both highly-touted prospects started out aggressively, but it was Lee who showed a more capable set of grappling skills. Lee spun a web of crafty grappling to overwhelm Subba as the 19-year-old Singaporean standout was able to get the submission finish in the third round, making Subba tap from a wrenching armbar.

pix provided by ONE

The rest of the results.

Filipino knockout artist Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon completed yet another scintillating finish, his second in a row, by defeating Australian submission specialist Reece “Lightning” McLaren by knockout. Belingon finished the job in just 62 seconds, dropping his Australian opponent with a hard right straight before punctuating with follow-up strikes on the ground to compel referee Olivier Coste to step in and halt the contest. The revered Team Lakay veteran recorded his seventh knockout win as a professional with the impressive triumph over McLaren.

pix by YK TANG

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Former ONE Strawweight World Champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke of Thailand brushed off a lackluster start to topple Robin “The Ilonggo” Catalan of the Philippines via second-round technical knockout. Showcasing tremendous power with every strike and drawing cheers from the crowd after each landed blow, Dejdamrong’s thunderous knees proved too much for Catalan as the Filipino lost his footing, forcing the referee to wave it off and award the victory to the celebrated Thai kickboxer.

pix by YK TANG

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Emilio “The Honey Badger” Urrutia of the United States made a triumphant promotional debut in ONE Championship by edging out Team Lakay stalwart Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly of the Philippines in their three-round featherweight encounter. Urrutia relied on his solid ground game to pacify his Filipino opponent’s firepower in the stand-up trade, wearing down Kelly and steering him to a decisive victory by way of unanimous decision.

pix by YK TANG

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Earlier on, kicking off ONE: QUEST FOR GREATNESS was a strawweight encounter between wushu practitioner Rene Catalan of the Philippines and Chinese grappling prodigy Bu Huo You Ga. After dropping his opponent with a clean left straight in first round, Catalan secured top control and went to work. With a dominant top game, Catalan notched his third straight victory, defeating Bu Huo as all three judges saw the bout in favor of Catalan to win by unanimous decision.

pix by YK TANG

ONE presented a night of  fireworks, gorgeous eye candy and glorious fights in KL

next stop is SHANGHAI!

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